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Unlicensed mobile clinics halt health services to communities

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Three vehicles that are used as mobile clinics to communities in the Nelson Mandela Metro are standing idle because they are not licensed.

Yet again communities suffer because they can’t access clinic services. To be denied this service because a vehicle is not licensed is criminal and shows scant regard for the welfare of citizens of this province by the Departments of Transport and Health.

I am informed by staff of the Department of Health that this is the second consecutive year that vehicles are standing idle due to a lack of licensing.

Heads must roll.

I will be raising this issue at the meeting of the Portfolio Committee of Transport at the Legislature on Thursday and will be asking that the MEC for Transport, Thandiswa Marawu, intervene and explain why this shocking state of affairs is allowed to happen.

I have submitted parliamentary questions to the MEC, to ask whether this lack of licensing of clinic vehicles is a problem throughout the province and what disciplinary action she will be taking against officials involved.

Mobile clinics are the most basic access to health care for many citizens.

This fiasco must further question whether the insourcing of the provincial fleet of vehicles from the private sector was in the interest of the community, given the myriad of the problems since the beginning of the year.

This state of affairs is unacceptable and the MEC must act decisively now so that these vehicles can be licensed and be able to serve clinic services to the Nelson Mandela Metro community.

Dacre Haddon

Related: Ward 1 Mobile Clinic Confined to Barracks

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This author is a 'catch-all' for occasional articles and letters written to MyPE. The Author of each article can be found in the signature at the bottom of each individual article.